Blood and Silver
by Cyborg-Kirara
Summary: We have all read the story of Simon and Vivian separately... but what would happen if the two completely different characters should meet? What would the hotheaded Vivian do if she met Simon; would he alarm her or fascinate her? Which is the safest to be?
1. Chapter 1

Vivian

I rushed through the woods, the wind whipping my fur back close to my body. Anger radiated off of me as I dodged the trees, startling other nocturnal animals during their own hunts. I didn't care; I was pissed and not stopping until I ran my anger off.

_Gabriel,_ I growled in my thoughts. _That sneaking low-life! How dare he desert me!!_ That womanizing loser and I had been going out for almost a year. Gabriel told me himself that it was the longest he had ever been with the same woman. I should have realized that was not a compliment but a warning of what was to come. Not a week after he told me this did I catch that creep out with another she-wolf draped on his arm.

When I demanded the reason for this, he merely shrugged it off and said, "I got bored. See ya, babe."

He dumped me right there in the middle of the busiest bar in the city and in front of his _new_ whore. Everyone had seen and heard and that little bitch had giggled when he said that. It made me want to snap her neck and then his. But there were humans about so that was a not an option. I considered following them to a secluded area; but I remember the last time I stalked the girl who had stolen my boyfriend and the trouble I got into over trashing her room while she was away. Besides Gabriel wouldn't be worth the trouble anyway, the bastard.

I barely dodged a low branch on one of the many young pine trees. I growled at the intrusion on my thoughts by the plant. _Those stupid things are all over this state!! Why did we have to come here of all places?_ We had moved to the state of South Carolina to escape suspicion after "the incident".

That was the Pack's way of referring to what happened up north when two of my Pack members, Rafe and Astrid, went absolutely crazy, starting a killing spree. Not only that, but they had tried to frame me for it. Being emotionally unstable at the time, I almost believed it myself. It was during the time after Aiden broke up with me after I revealed my true idenity as a _loup-garou­_, or a werewolf. It had been a tense month.

I shook my head viciously, tyring to sling such thoughts from my mind. _It's all over now. Stop wallowing in the past... it's the future you need to concentrate on... like what Mom's gonna say when she finds out about this..._

I sighed, but as a wolf, it was more of a wheeze. Esme will either _a) never let me live it down, b) go after him herself even though she is almost twice his age_, or _c) all of the above_. I was betting on answer c. A mental picture came of Esme and Garbriel becoming intimate which made me double over with nausea, gagging.

_Troublesome mutt,_ I grumbled. I realized even with my _loup-garou_ strength, I wouldn't endure long enough to run this anger off. I slowed reluctantly to a stop, my paws skidded on the fallen pine straw. I decided that, for once, I had had enough of running in my wolf skin. I groaned with the rippling pleasure of shifting into my half-state, being both animal and girl. I got up off my hands and knees and prepared to run back to my new house where my clothes were waiting in the backyard under a huge oak tree. As I turned, the breeze I had been running with hit me full in the face and a scent reached my nose.

It was different than anything I had ever scented before in all my years. It was a cold scent, almost like that of a newly dead corpse. But the unlike the normal smell of death, the smell was not sour with decay but, for some reason, sweet. It also held a slight metalic tang to it, like iron or a puddle of blood. I breathed in again and noted that the scent was spread out as though what ever it clung to had been moving. But the weird thing was there was no other scent to accompany the dead one. It was as if the corpse had been walking _by it's own free will_!

Somewhere inside me, my feral instinct told me to run away from this unnatural phenomenon. But I stood firm. I had to make sure, confirm my suspicions. The last time odd killings weren't investigated led to disaster. I had to make sure none of my family went wild.

I looked around on ground where the scent was the strongest. I saw no fresh marks of a passerby nor any blood to suggest that something bleeding was dragged through here. Relief washed through me. Whatever it was, it carried no evidence of being slain by one of our own. Just then a snapping twig made me tense up. I was not alone. What unnerved me was I had not heard or scented anyone drawing near me.

_What am I doing?_ I demanded to myself. _I am a _loup-garou_. What could _I_ possibly be afraid of?!_ I fought back this unfamilar fear and planted my body in a stance of brave defiance. "Who's there? What do you want?"

There came no answer, no movement among the surrounding pines. I curled my lip in annoyance that this wise guy thought I didn't know he was there. "I _know_ you're out there. C'mon out and face me, unless you're scared of a little girl!"

I didn't view myself as such, of course, but if it wounded whoever-was- following-me's pride enough to lure them out, I figured I'd give it a shot. I frowned; still nothing. Perhaps it _was_ only in my head. I was just about to leave when something caught my attention.

"Well, there's no need to be insulting," a smooth voice drifted down to me. It startled me. I was not used to people sneaking up on me. I was not used to being startled. It made me mad.

"I'll be the judge of that," I snapped. From the voice I could tell the stranger was male. I also noticed that he was young. To confirm my thoughts, a shadow in the trees nimbly dropped down from the branches and landed easily in a crouch, revealing a boy perhaps my age before me.

I took a breath and was caught off-guard when I realized the strange scent radiated off of _him_. But why did he smell of death? He seemed very much alive to me. But then again... why was the corpse scent the only one I smelled on him? Was he really alive?

"A simple 'would you please reveal yourself' would have sufficed," he added. I stared at him. He was unlike anything I had ever seen. He was tall, clad in all black which matched his eyes perfectly but also set off the extreme paleness of his skin. But what caught my attention the most was his hair. It shone like the full moon with the purest silver hue. _Great moon! He looks as if the Goddess herself kissed his forehead to make his hair that beautiful_, I thought, meizmorized by this teen.

I regained my composure and retorted, "Yeah, right. I like 'get your useless ass down here', better."

He looked at me thoughtfully. He seemed as curious about me as I was him. His eyes roamed my figure and for once in my life I was genuinely embarrassed of my barely furred form. I was not one for femine modesty and would strut around the town naked if I felt like it, but something about him studying me made me nervous and self-concious. I couldn't explain it; these useless emotions were more alien to me than fear. It angered me that this odd boy could stir such things up in me without any explanation.

"Why were you following me?" I asked, trying to hide the blush creeping up my face. Whether it was from anger, embarrassment, or both, I had no idea, but either one didn't sound good to me.

"I wasn't following you," he answered smoothly, meeting my eyes without any hesitation. I tensed. In the Pack, meeting someone's eyes like that after being asked a question referring to crossing into the other's territory or hunting path was considered a challenge. But as I looked on, I saw that in his eyes there was no sign of wanting a confrontation. "_You_ interrupted my hunting."

I was slightly puzzled by that answer. He was not equipped for hunting; no gun, knife, or traps like those of human hunters. So how could he possibly be hunting?

"What are _you _doing out here so late?" he asked. That wasn't a challenge either. He was seriously curious.

"Because I can be," I snapped. I frowned at my childish answer, but it was the best I could come up with. His curiosity about me was slightly unnerving. "Besides, what are _you _doing out here?"

"As I've said, hunting," he replied, a smile tugging at his mouth.

"Hunting what exactly, smart ass?" I snapped, folding my arms across my chest, hiding it from his view.

He couldn't fight the smile now. It was subtle but there all the same. I just knew it was mocking me.

He shrugged. "Anything that comes my way."

For some reason, _that_ sounded like a challenge. I felt a smile spread over my feral face. "Are you going to hunt me?"

His smile disappeared. He had a pained look on his face that would break any girl's heart...well, almost. I snorted at his reaction. "Whatever. All I can say is that'd you couldn't catch me even if you tried. Later, dude." To prove my point, I turned my back on him and seemed to fly across the ground as I ran back to my house. Yes, I was showing off, but I didn't care.

But the memory of that dead scent still lingered in my mind. I'd have to ask Aunt Persia about him later.


	2. Chapter 2

Simon

I watched the strange girl dash off into the night. _Truly fascinating_, I thought. _What was she, anyway? There is no way she was human, but... she had her own blood, so she isn't like me... what was that creature?_

I shrugged against the wind out of habit since I could no longer feel its chill. Cold was second nature to me now, being what I am. I had sated my gnawing hunger for now. Now it was time for sleep. I turned and headed for the cave the coven shared during the day. I made it to the entrance just as the stars were begining to dull with the sun's approaching light. I slipped through the crack big enough for a man to squeeze in sideways. After I made it through, I drug the large piece of a fallen tree over the opening to protect us from the burning rays of the sun.

"Simon!" a deep voice boomed. It was the coven's leader, Jakob, a hulking figure with the same pale skin and _usually _silver hair as I had. He came over and slapped me heartily on the back, his usual custom upon welcoming me back. As usual I smiled.

"What happened to your hair, Jakob? It looks like you've dunked your head in a mud hole," I said, pointing to his muck-brown locks.

He laughed. "I don't think white hair suits a man of my age, kid. Besides, I can't stand those whores down at the tavern making fun of it. I thought dying it would shut 'em up. Maybe you should do the same, you know. Having hair of an old man doesn't suit ya, Simon."

"No, thank you," I replied, with a sad smile. I took pride in my silver hair. It was one of the reasons _she_ had liked me. This was the first time I had allowed myself to think of Zoe since the night I left that small town, six months ago this week. I had been in love with her and I believed that she was with me too. But she was a human and I am a monster. After the danger she was put in while helping me destroy my dark brother, Christopher, I knew I couldn't remain with her. I would bring her nothing but pain and fear. I couldn't do that to her.

So I slipped in one night and woke her. While she was still groggy with sleep, I whispered, "I love you." Then, quick as a shadow, I slipped out. I didn't wait for an answer. I knew lingering would ruin the illusion of my presence being nothing but a dream. Besides, I figured if I had heard the answer, I would not have been able to leave...

"Well, are you coming in to work today?" he asked, releasing me from my memories. He owned the tavern where the ladies made fun of his silver hair. He had given me a job because he knew that I grew bored easily without having darkness to hunt.

"I was planning on sleeping in today," I replied. "Good day, Jakob."

"You too, kid." He walked off to get his high collared coat, hat, sunglasses and umbrella to get to the tavern at the edge of the town. It was as close as possible to the tree line to minimize the chance of any of Jakob's staff getting burned by the harsh rays of the sun. I shook my head at him. He was something else.

I felt the weight of sleep bearing down on me, but I didn't have time for that now. I had to ask a friend a question, sleep could wait. I headed for the back fo the cave. I nodded and smiled at familar faces of those like me until I made it to a tent with odd symbols painted across its surface. It was the home of the oldest vampire I had ever met, Gregori.

I tapped respectfully at the canvas of the tent. "Come in," answered a rasping voice. I stepped silently through the flap concealing the rest of the tent. Inside smelled of the small, warm fire that Gregori was burning. I smiled ruefully at him.

"Is that really such a good idea?" I asked the man sitting cross-legged close to the dancing flames. "I mean we can't open the door until the sun goes down. You'll have us all smelling like smoke again."

"Hmph," snorted Gregori. "They'll jest have to deal with it, won't they?" He was nearly a thousand years old. He had the same pale skin and silver hair, but this millenia old vampire still retained the youth he had a thousand years ago. He still looked like a thirty year old man; the only sign of his age was the wisdom that flowed from his onyx held many centuries worth of knowledge... knowledge I planned to use.

"Gregori, are there any vampires who have wild looking features and their own blood?" I asked.

Gregori looked up, confused and interested to be asked such a question. "None that I know of. Why ye be asking for such nonsense?"

"Well, tonight I ran into a very puzzling creature," I said. "I have partly described it to you: wild and fierce looking, like that of an untamed animal; has it's own blood; and had fur to cover itself."

"Fur, ye say?"

"Yeah."

"And this creature looked wild, beast-like?"

"Exactly that."

"I believe I know what ye saw. What phase was it tonight?"

Knowing immediately he meant the moon, I answered, "Waxing gibbous. Should be full in a night or two. Why?"

"So, they've finally come south, have they?" he murmured, more to himself than to me. But, intrigued, I persisted.

"Who have finally come?"

"The _loup-garou_."

"The what?"

"_Loup-garou_, son. A person with the ability to shift from man to beast or, as the most familiar term for this time goes, a werewolf."

I could hardly hide my amazement. I had come in contact with a _werewolf_. Gregori didn't seem to notice my stunned silence because he immediately wanted to know, "What form did ye catch it, Simon? Man or beast?"

"Well," I began, "she was-"

Gregori sputtered nonsense sounds in surprise, trying to form words in his sudden suprise until he finally managed the coherent statement of, "She?! Oh, I hope ye had sense enough not to pursue her!"

"I didn't pursue her, Gregori," I said, but added with bashful honestly, "though she did intrigue me, sir."

Gregori seemed to calm down for the moment. "Be that as it may, lad, stay as far 'way from 'em as ye can! Now... what state was... _she_ in?"

I pondered a moment on how to answer. It was slightly difficult considering I had only seen her clearly in the moonlight for a few moments before she fled and a few moments before that, having seen her between the branches of the pine I had been perched in sampling the local squirrels. "Well, Gregori, she wasn't a wolf, but she was too beastly to appear all human, either."

"Ah," Gregori said, understanding. "The 'half-state' as _they_ call it."

Captivated, I asked, "What are these creatures like, Gregori?"

"Dangerous," he snapped, as though my curiosity repulsed him. "Don't go anywhere near 'em if ye can help it. And whatever ye do, resist the temptation for their blood."

"Why?" Her wild, spicy, earthy scent flooded my memory. If I had not eaten earlier, the urge to hunt that scent would be irresistible. It was definitely something any vampire would be interested in.

Gregori apparently noticed my wistful thinking because he sighed, but answered, nonetheless, "It be sweeter than any nectar on this earth, boy. But it be also the most poisonous to us...

"It'll eat ye alive from the inside out, but won't kill ye. That's the cruel part of it!"

I was truly enthralled now. These creatures were like none I've ever seen or heard of; something that was actually _dangerous_ to a _vampire_, the ultimate predator? It seemed too good (or terrible, depending on your species) to be true.

"Now leave me and don't let me hear of ye near those things again!" He waved a hand to reinforce the dismissal and turned away from me, muttering, "I'll have to talk to Jakob about this..."

Unable to leave with so many questions buzzing in my mind, I persisted, "But how come I've never heard of these _loup-garou_? Do they exist only here, in North America?"

Gregori, agitated slightly that his dismissal was being ignored, retorted, "No. I've heard tales of them from all over the world. Especially of those in Europe."

"Europe?" Having lived there for a while myself, I was curious as to why these tales slipped past me.

"Yes, due to some rather brutal attacks up there, the wolves were hunted and forced to migrate. That was centuries ago... the one ye have seen may even be a descendant to those brutes.

"Now, lest you be working at Jakob's tonight, go and rest," Gregori snapped gently, trying to shoo me out the tent flap. I stood and walked out, shaking the ash from my hair. I sighed. Now that I had learned some of what I wanted to know, sleep was the farthest thing from my mind. Might as well take Jakob up on his offer...


End file.
